


Possible (3/39?)

by Mexta



Series: Possible [3]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M, post-412
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-21 01:46:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1533134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mexta/pseuds/Mexta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mickey takes care of business</p>
            </blockquote>





	Possible (3/39?)

Part 3

For the next couple of days, Ian didn't change much. He shifted positions, and Mickey thought he must be getting up to piss at times but he wasn't sure because it was usually in the middle of the night and he just had a vague sense of slowly creaking floorboards and shadows moving in the dark.

Ian didn't say anything, and Mickey didn't push him to. He tried to act like this was normal, a routine way of getting through their days. Sometimes he'd say a few chatty words while he was getting dressed, and he always let Ian know when he left the house. He took to picking up a takeout soup at the deli on the corner before he went out, and leaving it on the headboard with a can of beer or a cup of water while he was gone. Sometimes when he got back one or both would be empty, and other times they would be untouched, and Mickey would put the soup in the fridge for the next day. 

Sometimes, when he had nothing else to do, Mickey would lie on the bed beside Ian and talk a little. Nothing serious or complicated, just a little bit of daily gossip or news about Kev or Mandy, or anything he heard about the other Gallaghers. He didn't ask any questions or wait for Ian to respond or even show he was listening. And he didn't talk for very long because he still worried about annoying Ian, or doing anything that might drive him to leave.

***

If it wasn't so obvious that Ian was in pain his withdrawal would have been strangely convenient, since it gave Mickey time to get the rest of his life under control. He figured out pretty early that if he wanted to take care of Ian and manage Svetlana and the baby, he was going to have to take advantage of the window of opportunity Terry's return to jail had given him.

First things first. He recruited Iggy and Tony and the three of them quickly convinced Kenyatta to vacate the house and, for that matter, the state. Mandy didn't seem too disappointed about it. She had a good job now, waiting tables at a diner near the college, and she brought home a steady stream of tip money along with her pay cheque. 

Joey and Jamie hadn't been seen for a while and Mickey didn't figure they were coming back, which was good since it freed up a room for Svetlana and her girlfriend, whenever she moved in. 

Iggy and Tony had seemed a bit stunned after Mickey's revelation at the Alibi the night of the christening, like they didn't know whether to defend him or beat the crap out of him, but Mickey knew better than to let them think on it. Neither of them were bright enough to keep the house together with Terry gone, and Mickey took charge fast and firmly, issuing orders and directing business so that they ceded control without realizing they had done it. Between Mandy, Svetlana and Mickey they had the majority at home and formed a kind of unspoken alliance that kept the other brothers in check.

Once that was in place, Mickey resolved to settle things up with Kevin. Fortunately Kevin was highly committed to his newfound philosophy of zenlike peace and serenity, not to mention well aware that eventually there had to be some payback for his stunt with the gun, so Mickey found him amenable to negotiations. It took a while but they settled on a new financial arrangement, with set amounts for agreed expenses and protocols for counting cash and divvying it up -- and this time Mickey cut Svetlana in directly. 

"I get ten percent from Kev?" she asked, skeptical at first.

"You get ten percent - and that's it," Mickey told her. "That's your baby money. Between that and whatever you can squeeze out of your lady-friend over there .... that's what you get. No more comin' after me. That's your budget, you manage it."

Svetlana exhaled thoughtfully, and gave Mickey a long considering look over her cigarette. "All right," she conceded at last. "But one condition. I give baby to you -- two times. Two days in week."

Mickey stared at her with eyebrows raised in horror. "You want to leave the kid with me two days a week?"

"Why not? You are father. You take baby."

Mickey started to protest, until it occurred to him that being stuck at home twice a week might not be so bad while Ian was there. He wanted to look after him, didn't he?

"All right," he said abruptly. "Fine. Good. Okay. I take baby."

"Speaking of schedules," Kevin drawled, listening in as always, "When can I count on your virile presence here to keep the thugs -- the _other_ thugs -- in line?"

"I'm here every night, ain't I?"

Kevin lifted a shoulder. "Well, most nights. Long enough for a beer and a fist in the kitty jar."

Mickey raised his hands in exasperation. "I'm allowed to keep an eye on the proceeds. What are you saying -- you need me around more to make you feel safe?"

"I got a wife and kids to worry about," Kevin said, "And you know I'm trying to avoid violent karma."

"Man, you got Veronica right here," Mickey said. "You don't need no more protection."

That made V laugh, although she still managed to look at Mickey as though he'd just crawled out of a sewer pit.. "He's talking truth, Kev. If I didn't have my babies, we wouldn't need his ass round here at all." 

Kev stared at her, open-mouthed. "You can't -- "

"Of course I can! You think I can't keep this place in line without _his_ help? We only need him around when I have to put the girls down for the night."

Mickey seized his opening. "Ten to close," he announced. Four hours a day wouldn't be too long to leave Ian alone, would it? Especially with Mandy home for some of it. "Or should we say eleven?"

" _Ten_ ," Kev sulked. "What time you think we put our babies to bed?"

"Done." Mickey hopped off the barstool and dropped his empty beer mug on the bar. "Catch you later."

This time it was Kevin's turn to offer the middle finger as Mickey sauntered to the door.


End file.
